Aaliyah: Princess of R&B Bio-Pic Review

It’s hard to believe this past August marked 13 years since Aaliyah was killed in a freak plane accident, but it has, and it’s still so sad. The Lifetime Network has chosen to immortalize the young R&B star with a bio-pic, titled “Aaliyah: Princess of R&B.”

Beginning with her as a 10-year-old contestant on Star Search, and following her career through one mega success after another, “Princess” does a good job of accurately depicting Aaliyah’s launch to fame. The darker moments of Aaliyah’s life — including her scandalous relationship with a much older R. Kelly — are often skipped over or barely touched, making the film seem a bit flimsy at times.

The other glaring problem with “Princess,” though, is that Aaliyah’s family did not condone the making of the film, and therefore none of the singer’s music could be used, and it’s an obvious omission. It’s very strange to watch a movie about a musician and not hear any of that artist’s work in the film.

But, despite its shortcomings, “Princess” is still a great movie to catch if you’re a fan of Aaliyah’s work (and really, who isn’t?). Alexandra Shipp, of Nickelodeon’s “House of Anubis” series and Drumline 2, does a convincing job of playing the starlet. Supporting actors include Rachel Crawfod, Sterling Jarvis, and Lyriq Bent.